MADISONVILLE, Ky. (8/7/13) – County Attorney Todd P’Pool brought an issue to the courts attention this morning at the Hopkins County Fiscal Court meeting about the Walgreens Corporation undertaking litigation statewide that will have an impact on county governments all over Kentucky.

“I plan on attending a hearing at the Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals,” said P’Pool. “Basically the issue is Walgreens… the pharmaceutical companies are trying to change the way they value their commercial property.”

P’Pool said that this has been an issue going on statewide for a while and that Hopkins County was actually considered a test trial.

“Stakes are pretty high, this is a statewide issue similar to litigation in Florida with CVS,” said P’Pool. “This will impact several school districts that rely heavily on taxes and county governments.”

Also, according to P’Pool, about two weeks ago the Walgreens appealed their local assessment here in Hopkins County and the local tax board upheld Margaret Brown’s (Property Value Administrator) assessment as being proper because it was the same value they put on the face of the deed.

“They are trying to assess the value of the property itself, which includes the store building and land. The North Main Walgreens is owned by an investigator group and the South Main Walgreens is owned by the company. But the company is responsible for taxes on both of the buildings,” said Brown. “It’s Walgreens itself protesting the assessment.”

Brown fears that if Walgreens is successful in their appeal that we will be hearing from other national companies that lease properties in our community and state, that they will want to lower their assessments as well.

“Now they want to come back and try to diminish that value after they put fair cash value on it,” said P’Pool. “Mrs. Brown and I are keeping a close eye on this situation and will keep everyone updated as things progress.”

In other business, the road condition on McLevin Road has raised a concern. In early spring the road had been worked on a little, prepped for ditching, new chips & seal and asphalt. However, due to all the inclement weather the road is currently in pieces. CountyMark Energy Resources out of Evansville paid for the issues the road had the first time and in a letter they sent said they would pay for anymore damages that occur now.

“I want to talk to CountryMark about getting the road properly bonded and be willing to work with us to pay to have the road paved to a four or five inch thickness to handle the weight,” said Christopher Toney. “We don’t know how long it will be before they get out there but we can’t leave the road in this condition and throw patches here and there.”

The court also approved the 2012 Unmined Coal Tax Settlement, the Resolution for the Sheriff’s Deputy from Non-Hazardous to Hazardous Duty, the advertisement for demolition on abandoned properties and the bid received from All-State Ford for the diesel truck.

In other announcements, the fiscal court recognized and presented service pins to both David Frisby and Andy Reyes for five years of being with the Hopkins County Public Works Department.